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{{Short description|Peninsula in South-central Europe}}{{Redirect|Lo Stivale|the Canadian newspaper|Lo Stivale (newspaper){{!}}Lo Stivale (newspaper)}}{{For|the broader geographical region in Southern Europe|Italy (geographical region)}}{{Coord|42|00|N|14|00|E|region:IT_source:kolossus-ruwiki|display=title}}(File:Satellite image of Italy in March 2003.jpg|thumb|Satellite view of the peninsula in March 2003)The Italian Peninsula (Italian: penisola italica or penisola italiana), also known as the Italic Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula or Italian Boot, is a peninsula extending from the southern Alps in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south.

Overview

It is nicknamed lo Stivale (the Boot). Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this characteristic shape, namely Calabria (the "toe"), Salento (the "heel") and Gargano (the "spur").WEB,weblink The BOOT of ITALY, June 2023, 5 October 2023, The backbone of the Italian Peninsula consists of the Apennine Mountains, from which it takes one of its names. The peninsula comprises much of Italy and also includes the enclaved microstates of San Marino and Vatican City.

Physical geography

File:Italian Peninsula in Europe.svg|thumb|Minimum extent (excluding Northern ItalyNorthern ItalyGeographically, the minimum extent of the Italian Peninsula consists of the land south of a line extending from the Magra to the Rubicon rivers, north of the Tuscan–Emilian Apennines. It excludes the Po Valley and the southern slopes of the Alps.De Agostini Ed., L'Enciclopedia Geografica – Vol. I - Italia, 2004, p. 78.Touring Club Italiano, Conosci l'Italia – Vol. I: L'Italia fisica, 1957. The Italian Peninsula has the only active volcano on continental Europe, Mount Vesuvius.WEB,weblink Mount Vesuvius, Italy: Map, Facts, Eruption Pictures, Pompeii,

Political geography

In general discourse, "Italy" and the "Italian Peninsula" are often used as synonymous terms. However, Northern Italy may be excluded from the Italian Peninsula. From a political point of view, the Italian Peninsula in the strict sense (therefore excluding Insular Italy and Northern ItalyVocabolario Treccani, Peninsulare) is divided into various states listed in the following table:De Agostini Ed., L'Enciclopedia Geografica - Vol. I - Italia, 2004, p.78Touring Club Italiano, Conosci l'Italia - Vol. I: L'Italia fisica, 1957{| class="wikitable"!rowspan=2| Country!rowspan=2| PopulationPopulation includes only the inhabitants of the Italian Peninsula, excluding Northern Italy and Insular Italy (Sardinia and Sicily).!colspan=3| Peninsular area!rowspan=2| Description! km2! sq mi! Share

Italy}}	26,140,000	131,275	sqmi|disp=table}}|99.9531%|Effectively the entire peninsula

San Marino}}	31,887	61.2	sqmi|disp=table}}|0.0466%|A central-eastern enclave of peninsular Italy

Vatican City}}	829	0.49	sqmi|disp=table}}|0.0003%|An enclave of Rome, Italy

See also

• Apennine Mountains
• Italy
• Italy (geographical region)
• San Marino
• Southern Europe
• Vatican City

References

{{reflist}}

External links

• {{Commons category-inline|Italian Peninsula}}

{{Italy topics}}{{Regions of the world}}{{Authority control}}